


Memory Lane

by Captain Natasha Riker-Troi (textsfrompicard)



Series: The Adventures of Natasha Riker-Troi [2]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek - Various Authors, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Titan
Genre: F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Reunions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24014608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/textsfrompicard/pseuds/Captain%20Natasha%20Riker-Troi
Summary: Tasha visits her parents’ homeworlds for the first time. Chapter 1 takes place in Valdez, Alaska, and is set in late October 2385, after the events of The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow. Riker has just been promoted to admiral, and his next assignment is as yet uncertain. Tasha is understandably worried about the lack of immediate direction for the future, and wonders what it has in store for her family. Chapter 2 takes place in Rixx, Betazed's capital city, and is set in early December 2385, after the events of Takedown by John Jackson Miller. The Riker family is taking shore leave on Betazed with Lwaxana and Barin Troi.
Relationships: William Riker/Deanna Troi
Series: The Adventures of Natasha Riker-Troi [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732120
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Valdez, Alaska (Earth)

**Author's Note:**

> In Chapter 1, I include references to events/people mentioned in the TNG novels A Rock and a Hard Place, A Time to Hate, A Time for War/A Time for Peace, and Maximum Warp Book 2. Will's mother's name was Betty according to Memory Alpha (although it was never shown/mentioned on screen) and Ann/Annie according to Memory Beta and A Time to Hate, so I compromised and made her full name Elizabeth Ann. I also invented birth years for both her and Kyle Riker, as well as Will's aunt's name (mentioned in Maximum Warp but not named).

“And that’s where Squibby and I used to race our hover-bikes,” Will said, using the nickname he’d given his childhood friend, Jackson Carter, as he gave his wife and daughter the grand tour of his hometown. He allowed himself a brief, private moment of mourning for his departed friend, killed twenty years previously by genetically engineered monsters on a hellish world called Paradise. “One time I misjudged my stopping distance, and I crashed right into that little copse of trees over there and broke my nose.”

“I guess you weren’t always such a good pilot, then,” Deanna teased him.

Will smirked. “Well, practice does makes perfect.”

Tasha was only half-listening to her father’s words, distracted as she was by the new and fantastic wonders around her. In reality, Valdez was not a particularly interesting small town, even as far as small towns went. But to someone born and raised on a starship, this was a strange new world, entirely hers to explore. The four-year-old was ecstatic for the opportunity, although she wasn’t entirely pleased at how it had come about. Her father had recently been promoted to the rank of admiral, and even though he didn’t have a new assignment yet, Tasha was worried that they wouldn’t be able to live on the Titan anymore. She loved living on a starship and exploring the universe, and she knew her parents did too, so she hoped they would be able to stay. _Maybe Daddy can just order himself to stay on Titan since he’s an admiral now_ , she thought to herself.

“Will? Will Riker!” The three of them turned around to see a tall, shaggy-haired man speed-walking towards them. The man grinned broadly. “I knew it was you! I hear you’re a big-shot Starfleet admiral now. Glad to see you’re still not too good for the likes of us!”

Will returned the man’s grin. “It’s good to see you, Billy.” They slapped each other on the back in true masculine fashion, then Billy turned to face Deanna and Tasha. “And who are these lovely creatures?”

“This is my wife, Commander Deanna Troi, and our daughter, Natasha Riker-Troi,” Will said proudly. “Ladies, this is an old school friend of mine, Billy Weaver.”

Tasha smiled and waved up at Weaver, her other arm wrapped tightly around Will’s leg. Deanna smiled in greeting and shook his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Weaver returned the handshake, then gave Will a teasing grin. “I thought you said no woman could ever make you settle down.”

Will’s cheeks turned slightly pink as he smiled sheepishly. “Well, I obviously hadn’t met Deanna yet.” 

Beside him, Deanna smirked knowingly. “It did take him a long time to come to a decision.”

Will raised his eyebrows. “Well, it took _you_ a long time, too.”

“So it did,” Deanna conceded. She looked at Weaver again. “So, did you ever join Will and Jackson in their hover-bike races?”

“Jackson Carter?” Weaver’s eyes grew distant. “Yeah, the three of us were inseparable.” He looked at Will. “I was sorry to hear about his… death.”

“So was I,” Riker said bitterly. He shook off the momentary melancholy and smiled at Weaver. “It was great seeing you again, Billy. You’re not free for dinner tonight or tomorrow by any chance?”

“Actually, I’m going to be in Alpha Centauri all week on business. I was just on my way to the spaceport.” Weaver shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe we could get together after I get back. How much longer will you be planetside?”

“I’m not sure,” Riker admitted. “I don’t have new orders yet, but they could come down at any time.”

“Damn. Well, maybe another time.” Weaver slapped him on the back again, then smiled at Deanna and Tasha. “It was nice to meet you both. You must be one hell of a woman, Commander, to get old Thunderball here to settle down.”

Deanna’s eyebrows nearly jumped straight off her forehead. “Thunderball?”

Will’s face reddened. “If you _must_ know, Squibby gave me the nickname in retaliation for my giving him _his_ nickname.”  


“But… _Thunderball_?”

Weaver grinned. “Have fun, Thunderball.” He strolled away, whistling cheerfully. Deanna folded her arms and looked up at Will, frowning. Will, for his part, remained fixated on a distant point across the town square.

“Why were you called Thunderball?” asked Tasha. 

“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” said Will.

******************************

The house was less than a century old, but it already had an ancient, lonely feel. The ghosts of long-departed warmth and companionship could be felt even from halfway up the front walk. If a house could be sad, thought Tasha, this house definitely was. _It’s a good thing we’re here to cheer it up._

“That looks like a really big house for only three people,” she said.

“It felt even bigger with just two.” Will led the way up to the front door, holding it open for Deanna and Tasha to walk through. “The place was left to me after Dad died, but I didn’t have any use for it at the time, so I turned it over to Aunt Minerva. She’s been keeping everything in order.”

Indeed, the house was perfectly pristine. There wasn’t a speck of dust or dirt to be seen anywhere. And yet the place still had an desolate, abandoned feel, at least to Tasha. It didn’t seem right to her that a house should feel so... empty.

“Are we going to live here now?” she asked.

Will looked at her, startled. “What do you mean?”

“‘Cause you’re not captain of Titan anymore,” she said. “Admirals don’t get to live on starships, right?”

“Not usually,” admitted Will. “But don’t worry. I may still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

It was a pretty turn of phrase, but there was almost no substance to it. Will in fact had no idea where he would be sent next, and on some level Tasha knew that. Nevertheless, she chose to have faith in her father. He was the greatest man Tasha knew, and he could do anything he set his mind to. He would make sure the three of them stayed together. Starfleet Command was no match for him. Right?

******************************

The snow fell in soft, gentle flakes upon the marble headstone as the wind whistled softly through the trees, making a low, susurrant rustling. The family stood silently with their heads bowed, their gazes upon the stone’s inscription, which read:

_Elizabeth Ann Riker Kyle Thaddeus Riker_

__

__

2303-2337 2300-2379

_Beloved wife and mother Husband and father_

Tasha looked up at her father. “How come Grandpa’s name doesn’t have ‘beloved’ under it?”

Will kneaded his forehead with one hand. “Um… it’s… complicated.” Tasha frowned in puzzlement, but did not pursue the matter further.

They stood in silence for a few minutes longer. “I have a question,” Tasha said at last. “Alexander says that Klingons don’t bury their dead. They think the body is just an empty shell after the spirit leaves.”

“That’s true,” said Deanna. “But what’s your question?”

“Why do humans bury _their_ dead?”

Deanna sighed. “Well, humans need a tangible reminder of those who have passed on. It tends to bring them comfort, which helps alleviate their grief.”

“But wouldn’t it also make people sad?” asked Tasha. 

“I suppose at first,” admitted Deanna. “But ultimately it helps people who are grieving for the loss of a loved one. Human emotions tend to be very complex.”

“That makes your job harder, doesn’t it?” asked Tasha.

“Sometimes it does,” agreed Deanna. “But it can also be very rewarding. People frequently need help sorting out their emotions, and it gives me a great deal of satisfaction to be able to provide that.”

Silence fell once more. Tasha looked at the grave again, then back up at her parents, who stood embracing one another, with her father resting his head atop her mother’s. She was far too young to appreciate the full impact of what was occurring here, but she knew enough to know when people were sad, and death certainly seemed to make people sad. She didn’t like it when people were sad, especially not when it was people she loved, and she loved her parents more than anything in the world.

It occurred to her then that someday her parents would be nothing more than words on a piece of marble, half buried in snow. She couldn’t even fully grasp the concept, but suddenly the wind seemed much harsher, the cold crueler and more biting. Even the sun seemed to disappear behind the clouds. 

She shivered involuntarily and huddled closer to her parents’ legs. Both of them reached down with one arm and rested a hand upon each of her shoulders. Tasha felt her mother’s mind brushing hers, caressing her with feelings of warmth and deep, pure love of the kind only a mother could feel. A strong sense of togetherness and contentment washed over her. No matter what the future would bring, in the here and now there was love and harmony and closeness, and the unshakeable bonds of family.

******************************

“This is where I used to go fishing with my own father,” Will was saying to Tasha. The family was sitting on the edge of a vast lake deep within the Alaskan woods. It was late afternoon, and the scenery was illuminated in a pale golden light that glinted off the water, producing an almost musical shimmering (if a visual phenomenon could be described in auditory terms). He and Tasha both had fishing rods in their hands and lines in the water, waiting for the fish to bite. Deanna had declined a rod of her own, preferring instead to record the day’s events via holo-camera. Two large pink salmon were already on ice, courtesy of Will’s own fishing skills. This was Tasha’s very first fishing trip, and Will had sworn to himself that he would not repeat his father’s mistakes. Whether or not Tasha caught any fish today, she would do so on her own. Will was definitely not going to rob her of the opportunity to take pleasure in her achievements.

“Did you catch a lot of fish?” asked Tasha.

Will looked away, his gaze on the distant horizon. “When I went fishing with my friends, yeah. I didn’t have as much luck when I went with my dad.”

There was an undercurrent to his voice that Tasha couldn’t identify. “Did you at least have fun?”

Will sighed internally, not entirely sure how to approach the subject. “Not really. I didn’t get along with my own father very well.” 

“Why not?” 

“It’s kind of… complicated.” 

Tasha scowled. “Why do grownups keep _saying_ that?” 

Deanna pulled her daughter up onto her lap and stroked her hair. “Sometimes, little one, grownups just don’t want to talk about certain things.” 

Tasha was about to ask her mother just what she meant by _that_ , but at precisely that moment she felt a sharp tug on her line. “Fish!” Tasha exclaimed, leaping to her feet and tightening her grip on the fishing rod. She stood firm with both feet planted on the ground, just like Daddy had showed her. She furrowed her brow in intense concentration. Behind her, her parents remained silent save for a few words of encouragement. 

There was an intense tug-of-war for several minutes, and then in one smooth motion she pulled the fish out of the water. It turned out to be something of a letdown, for all the effort it had cost. Tasha’s face fell. 

“He’s just a little fish,” she said, disappointed. 

“But he’s _your_ fish,” said her father. “And you caught him, all by yourself.” His voice sounded funny on the last three words, and there was an expression on his face that Tasha couldn’t identify. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.” He smiled then, and Tasha had no problem identifying _that_ emotion. Her heart suddenly filled with a kind of joy she couldn’t quite articulate. Lacking the words, she simply smiled back.

******************************

“This fish is excellent, William,” said Minerva Callahan. They were back at the old Riker house, having dinner. “You’re an excellent fisherman, and an even better chef.”

Will grinned. “Actually, Tasha’s the one who caught the fish you’re eating now.”

“Is that right?” Minerva raised an eyebrow and looked across the table at her great-niece. “Well done, Tasha. It seems your father has taught you well.” Tasha smiled proudly.

Will smiled, glad to see his aunt and his daughter bonding. Minerva was the eldest of his mother’s sisters, and yet the only one who still remained alive. Not for the first time, he was glad he’d finally gotten up the nerve to restart things with Deanna. His aunt was getting on in years, and although she tended to be more on the stoic side, Will knew she had been lonely lately. He was glad to be able to give her some quality time with his wife and little girl.

“So, Tasha,” Minerva continued, “do you have any idea what you’re going to be when you grow up?”

“Starfleet,” Tasha said immediately.

It was all Will could do to keep from exploding with joy. Beside him, Deanna smiled and squeezed his hand.

“Yes,” Minerva said patiently, “but what position in Starfleet? There are different branches, I understand.”

Tasha furrowed her brow, considering. “Well, Daddy always made being a starship captain look like fun.”

Will simultaneously let out a cheer and tried to suppress it, which had the end result of producing a moderately loud yelping noise. Everyone turned and looked at him, which should have made him feel self-conscious, but he didn’t care. He was on top of the world.

Minerva raised an eyebrow. “Well, your father certainly seems happy about that.”

“Yes, I am,” Will said unabashedly, “but it doesn’t matter if I’m happy or not. All that matters,” he said as he turned to face Tasha, “is that _you’re_ happy. If joining Starfleet would make you happy, your mother and I will support that. If you change your mind and decide you want to do something else, we’ll support that too.”

“I’ll never change my mind,” Tasha said confidently. “I’m going to be an explorer, just like you and Mommy.”

Will fairly beamed with pride. He looked over at Deanna, and she returned his gaze, her smile as wide as his own. _She takes after you more and more with each passing day_ , Imzadi.

 _I know_ , Riker sent. _It almost seems too good to be true. I was so afraid I wouldn’t be a good father, because I didn’t exactly have the best example. But she’s just so easy to love... and she seems to love me unconditionally in return._

 _Of course she does,_ Imzadi. _She’s your daughter. The parent-child bond is one of the strongest there is. It will continue to last long after she grows up and moves away. She’ll always love you, Will, as long as you love her._

 _And they say good things never last._ Will smiled and looked over to where Tasha was now attempting to hang a spoon from her nose, giggling uncontrollably while Minerva watched her, frowning with false disapproval. _I thought you were the best thing that ever happened to me, and then Tasha came along... Every time I think I couldn’t be happier, something happens to prove me wrong. Never in my wildest dreams did I—_

“Mommy, Daddy, look!” Will and Deanna looked over at their daughter, who had at last succeeded in attaching the spoon to her nose. She was now sitting there wearing a triumphant expression, which it might have been possible to take seriously were it not for the aforementioned spoon. She looked utterly ridiculous and adorable at the same time, and Will laughed out loud. “Well done, sweetheart! I don’t think I’ve ever been able to do that.”

Tasha’s eyes grew wide. “I thought you could do anything.”

Will blinked rapidly, somewhat taken aback by the pure innocence in his daughter’s face and voice. “Um... well, I can do a lot of things. I just can’t hang a spoon from my nose.”

Tasha grinned. “Well, I can!”

“Well, good for you.” Will tried to scowl but failed miserably, breaking into a broad smile. He lifted Tasha up and pulled her onto his lap, tickling her under her chin. “It’s every father’s dream to be surpassed by his child in spoon-nose-hanging talent.”

Tasha giggled hysterically while Deanna rolled her eyes. “I swear, you two get more ridiculous every day.”

“But you love us anyway, right?” asked Tasha.

“Of course I do.” Deanna’s smile was as wide as the Opal Sea as she embraced her husband and daughter. She kissed Tasha on the top of her head. “Don’t ever change, little one.”

“But T’Pel says that change is a necessary process of all existence.”

“Well, yes, but I meant... never mind. Just be yourself.”

“Okay, Mommy.”

******************************

Wavy golden hair fell upon the woman’s shoulders in an elegant cascade, her blue eyes sparkling with silent laughter. Upon her lap sat two-year-old Will Riker, his face wearing an expression of childlike glee, his arms frozen in mid-flail above his head. 

Tasha looked from the holograph to her father. “She was really pretty.”

“Yes, she was.” Will’s voice was husky. He put the holograph back on the night table. Tasha looked around the rest of her father’s childhood room. The shelves were cluttered with model starships of every imaginable variety. Some were even lying about the floor, as if abandoned in mid-play. Interspersed among the starships were action figures in at least three different Starfleet uniform iterations. Tasha thought she saw one she recognized, and she crouched down to pick it up.

“Is this Captain Kirk?” she asked.

Will smiled. “It sure is.” He sat down cross-legged next to her. “You know, when I was growing up, I wanted nothing more than to beat his record as the youngest captain in Starfleet history. I was on track to do that, too, until I joined the Enterprise-D.”

Tasha fiddled with the action figure’s arms. “Why did you stay on the Enterprise so long if you wanted to be a captain so much?”

“Well, there were a couple of reasons.” Will picked up one of the model starships and mimicked warp engine noises as he flew it around Tasha’s head, causing her to let out a melodic giggle. “One of them was that serving on the Enterprise carried so much prestige, and Jean-Luc Picard was one of the greatest captains in the fleet— still is, actually. There was a lot I could learn, and did learn, from serving with him.”

“And the other reason?”

Will put down the model starship and gathered Tasha in his arms. “Accepting another command would have meant leaving your mother behind. I made the mistake of priotizing my career over love once. I wasn’t about to do it again.”

“But you weren’t even _together_ the whole time, right?” asked Tasha. “If you were pretending not to be in love, why did you try so hard to stay on the same ship?”

Will couldn’t keep himself from laughing at Tasha’s characterization of his and Deanna’s post-Betazed and pre-Ba’ku relationship. _‘Pretending’ pretty much sums it up_ , he thought to himself. “We may have been ‘pretending’, sweetheart, but that didn’t change the fact that we cared deeply for one another. We always have, and we always will, no matter where Starfleet Command sees fit to send me, or her.”

Tasha put down the Kirk action figure and fixed her wide black eyes upon her father’s face. “What if they send you away from Titan? Will Mommy get a new assignment too? Will we go with you?”

Will pulled back slightly so he could look straight into his daughter’s eyes. What he intended to say next was probably one of the most important points he would ever make in his life, and he wanted Tasha to remember it. “I don’t know where they’ll send me. But no matter where I go, you and your mother will go with me. You two are the most important things in my life, more than my career or anything else. I promise you’ll never have to wonder if I’ll be there for you or if I care about you. The three of us will always be together, no matter what happens.”

Tasha regarded him silently for a long moment, then suddenly she wrapped her arms around her father’s torso and hugged him as tightly as she possibly could. “I love you, Daddy.”

Will returned the embrace, engulfing his tiny daughter in his brawny arms. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

******************************

“This is where your mother and I got married in our Terran ceremony,” Will said. “Six years ago next month.”

They were standing in a wide clearing in the Denali mountain range. Before them the sun glinted off the tall, snow-capped mountains, illuminating the graceful evergreens. It was a spectacular vista, and despite Tasha’s limited knowledge of romantic love and related matters, she thought this was the most romantic and beautiful place she had ever seen. This was the last place on Earth they were visiting before beaming back up to the Titan; at long last Admiral Riker had new orders. He would be taking the Titan to defuse some diplomatic snafu involving the Breen. Tasha was a little disappointed their sojourn on Earth was coming to an end, but mostly she was excited to be heading back out into space, especially with both her parents by her side.

“How come you had two ceremonies?” she asked.

“Your grandmother,” Will said, as if that explained everything.

“Oh,” said Tasha, as if it did.

A flock of chestnut-backed chickadees flew overhead, making their way south for the winter. They were chirping to one another in a vigorous, animated manner, causing Tasha to wonder just what it was they were all so excited about. _I wonder if they were here when Mommy and Daddy got married._

“Do you remember when Data sang ‘Blue Skies’ at the reception?” Deanna said wistfully.

Will smiled with nostalgic remembrance. “He was a man of many talents, but until then I never knew he could carry a tune.”

Tasha frowned. “I thought jazz was supposed to be _out_ of tune.”

Will gaped at her, momentarily at a loss for words. He was about to retort in some way when he noticed Deanna was trying her utmost to hold back laughter. _Just what do you think is so funny_ , Imzadi?

 _She’s just teasing you, Will._ Deanna smirked. _She did inherit your sense of humor, you know._

Will looked back at Tasha to see the same expression of suppressed mirth that was mirrored in her mother’s face. He looked back and forth between them, acquiring a resigned air. “I’m just a plaything to you guys, aren’t I?”

“You’re much more than that, _Imzadi_ ,” said Deanna reassuringly, wrapping her arms around his waist. “You’re _our_ plaything.”

“Yeah!” Tasha laughed merrily and ran over to hug her father’s legs. Will gave in and embraced them both. “Okay, then.” He kissed his wife passionately, then tousled his daughter’s hair. “I can live with that.”


	2. Rixx (Betazed)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early December 2385, after the events of Takedown by John Jackson Miller. The Rikers are spending shore leave on Betazed with Lwaxana and Barin Troi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, I make references to people/events from the TNG novels Imzadi, The Insolence of Office, The Battle of Betazed, and A Rock and a Hard Place, and the Lost Era novel The Art of the Impossible. The only spoiler-y things come from Imzadi, because I refer directly to the main plot.

“Mother, they’re here!”

Barin Troi burst out of the front door of the Troi mansion and sprinted down the front walk to where the Rikers were approaching. He wrapped his sister in a bear hug. “It’s so good to see you, Deanna!”

“It’s good to see you too, Barin.” Deanna pulled back and looked up at her little brother— that’s right, _up_. Barin was only thirteen, but he was already more than two meters tall, a fact which owed itself to his half-Tavnian ancestry. His growth seemed to be slowing down at last, however, much to his mother’s relief.

Barin exchanged a hug and a back-slap with Will, then he bent down to regard his niece. “And you must be Tasha. I’m your Uncle Barin.”

“I know,” piped Tasha. She looked at him curiously. “I’ve never seen a Tavnian before. Not even half of one.”

“Well, now you have,” Barin said matter-of-factly. He opened his arms in an invitation for a hug, which Tasha accepted gladly.

“What could _possibly_ be keeping you, Little Ones?” The four of them looked up to see Lwaxana Troi, Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed, standing on the front porch with her hands on her hips. “I have waited a very long time for a grandchild, and I’m not getting any younger while you all stand there dawdling!”

Deanna rolled her eyes even as she smiled. “Surely you can wait a few more seconds, Mother.”

“Daughters of the Fifth House don’t _wait_ , Little One. Now come over here and hug your mother.”

Deanna acquiesced, greeting her mother with an embrace. While keeping one arm around Lwaxana, she reached out to her daughter with the other. “Natasha, this is your grandmother. Mother, this is your granddaughter.”

Tasha regarded her grandmother with silent wonder. She wore an elaborate gown made of Tholian silk, with multilayered skirts in shades of purple. Upon her head was a tiara set with rubies, and Tasha thought she looked like a princess out of a Terran fairy tale.

_Why, thank you, Little One. You look lovely as well… the spitting image of your mother when she was your age._

_Mother_ , sent Deanna, _do try and speak aloud for the duration of our visit, would you? You’re excluding Will and Barin._

 _Quite right, Little One, I’m terribly sorry._ Lwaxana crouched down until she was eye-to-eye with Tasha. “It’s so wonderful to meet you at long last, Little One. You’re just as I imagined you, when you weren’t even a twinkle in your mother’s eye.”

Deanna sighed at her mother’s friendly jab. “You _have_ a grandchild now, Mother. Let it go.”

“Should I call you Grandmother or Grandma?” asked Tasha.

Lwaxana clutched her chest in mock horror. “Oh, good heavens, no! Just call me Lwaxana, Little One. Anything else would make me feel old.”

“Okay, Lox—“ Tasha stopped and frowned in intense concentration. “La-wox— lux—licks— law-ucks—.”

After about fifteen seconds of this Lwaxana sighed, resigning herself to the inevitable. “Oh, never mind, Little One.” She shuddered. “Grandma it is.”

“Wait a minute,” said Will. “What about Nana? I think you’re more like a Nana than a Grandma.”

Lwaxana sniffed haughtily. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or insulted by that, William.”

“I like Nana,” Tasha insisted.

“All right then.” Lwaxana feigned reluctance even as her heart swelled with joy. “Nana it is”

Tasha wrapped her arms around her grandmother and squeezed as tightly as she could. Lwaxana returned the embrace, kissing the top of Tasha’s head. _It was worth the wait, Deanna_ , she sent, gently caressing her granddaughter’s hair. _She’s absolutely perfect._

************

That evening the five of them went to dinner at a fancy restaurant on the coast. “Your grandfather and I used to come here all the time,” Lwaxana explained to Tasha. “In fact, he intended to propose to me here, but I picked it up in his mind he moment he landed at the spaceport, and I decided it would save a lot of time if I just gave him his answer right then and there.”

“You didn’t even let him ask first?” Will said incredulously.

“There wouldn’t have been any point, William,” Lwaxana said patiently. “I knew what his intentions were, and I knew what mine were, so there was simply nothing else left to say.”

Will glanced sideways at Deanna, smiling wryly. “At least you let me _start_ my proposal before you interrupted it with your own, _Imzadi._ ”

Tasha’s eyes widened. “You interrupted Daddy?”

“He was taking too long to get to the point, little one,” explained Deanna.

“I had already taken _twenty years_ to get to the point, Imzadi,” Will argued, still smiling. “You could have waited a few more minutes.”

“It was going to take _minutes_?” Deanna exclaimed. “It’s a good thing I interrupted, then, otherwise we might still be there.”

Will rolled his eyes while the rest of the family held back laughter. “Well, I think it would’ve at least been polite if—.”

“Will? Will! Deanna!” They all turned to see a striking human woman on the arm of a tall Betazoid man. “It’s me, Wendy!”

“Wendy Roper!” Will exclaimed. “Or— sorry, it’s Berq now, isn’t it?”

“Has been for over twenty years, Will.” Wendy rolled her eyes. “Where have you been?”

Will smirked. “Getting busy.”

“You mean procrastinating on getting busy, _Imzadi_ ,” Deanna said as Barin laughed uproariously. Tasha looked at him in confusion. “Why is he laughing?” she asked her mother.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, little one.”

Wendy gaped at Tasha. “Who’s this, then? Has the perennial bachelor, Mr-I’ll-Never-Settle-Down Will Riker actually reproduced?”

“Hey,” Will said indignantly, “you said the exact same thing when I first met you.”

“Yes, but _I_ didn’t take twenty years to change my mind.”

“Touché.” Will smiled and gestured to Tasha. “This is my and Deanna’s daughter, Natasha Riker-Troi. Tasha, this is Wendy Berq, an old friend of ours, and her husband— Tam, right?”

Wendy and Tam nodded. “It’s lovely to meet you, Tasha,” said Wendy. “I wish we could stay and chat more, but we were just on our way out, and we’re heading to Izar in the morning. Our Deanna just gave birth to a baby boy!”

The entire table erupted with congratulations. “See, Little One?” Lwaxana said to Deanna. “If you’d gotten married twenty years ago like you should have, I’d have _great_ -grandchildren by now.”

“Yes, and I would have insisted they call you Great-Grandmother, to make you feel as old as possible.”

Lwaxana pondered. “Somehow that doesn’t make me feel as old as Grandmother would.”

“Grandmother it is, then.” Deanna smiled to show that she was being facetious, and Lwaxana smiled back. Deanna turned back to face Wendy. “You’ll have to send us pictures, Wendy.”

“Definitely, I will.” Wendy smiled and waved at the Riker-Trois. “Well, goodbye, everyone!”

“Goodbye!” Will and Deanna waved back. “Bye!” Tasha piped, waving animatedly. Lwaxana and Barin also said their goodbyes, then they all resumed their dinner as the Berqs left the restaurant.

“She was human,” observed Tasha.

“Yes, she was,” agreed Will. “Her father was my commanding officer when I was assigned to Betazed as a young lieutenant. She obviously stayed after I left.”

“I visited them shortly after they got married, when I was home on break from the Academy,” Deanna said. “It was Christmastime on Earth, so Wendy had the whole place decked out with the most elaborate decorations you’ve ever seen. It was actually quite impressive.”

“But Christmas isn’t celebrated on Betazed, right?” asked Tasha.

“No,” said Lwaxana, “but that never stopped your grandfather. Every year he would insist on cluttering up our living room with this enormous pine tree, and the exterior of the house became this garish, luminous monstrosity, with antelopes on the roof and icemen in the yard—.”

“That’s _reindeer_ and _snow_ men, Mother,” Deanna corrected patiently, smiling with remembrance. “And do you remember what we did on Christmas Day? It would’ve been too cold to do on Earth, but he would invite all our cousins to a barbecue and cook hamburgers on this antique Terran grill… what did he call it?”

“I could never keep it straight, Little One,” said Lwaxana. “It was some Terran name… Jim Sandman grill, or Jack Morton grill, or—.”

Will sat bolt upright, gazing at Lwaxana in astonishment. “A _George Foreman_ grill?”

“Why, yes,” said Lwaxana. “Have you heard of it?”

“You could say that,” said Will. He felt a growing sense of excitement. “Do you still have it?”

************

“I don’t believe this,” said Lwaxana. “What is it with human men and cooking things outdoors?”

It was the following afternoon, and they were setting up to have a picnic in a spacious clearing by Lake Cataria. The George Foreman grill had in fact survived the Dominion attack on Betazed ten years prior, and had been gathering dust in the attic of Lwaxana’s new house ever since. Will and Barin had together dug it out of the attic and were now standing at the grill, preparing hamburgers for the family’s enjoyment, while Lwaxana, Deanna, and Tasha were setting out utensils on the picnic blanket.

“Maybe it’s not all human men,” suggested Deanna. “Maybe it’s just _our_ human men.”

“Haven’t you met your father’s friends, Little One? Every last one of them would positively salivate at the very _mention_ of that— thing.”

“George Foreman grill!” Tasha said excitedly.

Lwaxana blanched. “Oh no, not you too, Little One.”

“She’s only excited about it because she’s copying her father, Mother,” Deanna reassured her.

“No I’m not!” insisted Tasha.

Deanna smiled and fluffed her daughter’s hair. “Whatever you say, little one.”

Tasha was about to argue the point further, but a shout from the direction of the grill interrupted their byplay. “The burgers are ready!” They looked over to see Will triumphantly waving a spatula in the air while Barin flipped the burgers onto the buns Tasha had previously set out on plates. “Get ‘em while they’re hot!”

Each of them chose a burger, and they all settled down on the blanket to eat. A light breeze wafted through the clearing, causing a nearby stand of silvery-blue flowers to emit a melodious tinkling sound. “What’s that called?” asked Tasha.

“That’s the muktok plant, little one,” said Deanna. “They live for hundreds of years.” She smiled, reminiscing. “Your father and I planted one of our own somewhere around here, back when we were first together. I think it was further along the path.”

“That’s a very ugly name for such a pretty plant,” observed Tasha.

Deanna chuckled. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

Thinking of the muktok plant set Will’s mind to wandering, until it settled on another memory from his days on Betazed. “Deanna, do you remember that book you gave me? The one on Betazed philosophy, with all the scenarios?”

“You mean this one?” Barin interrupted. He pulled a thin blue book out of his knapsack. The title read, _On Understanding_. "We've been reading this in school."

“Yeah, that’s the one,” said Will. He looked at Deanna, a mischievous glint in his eye. “What do you say we pose some of those scenarios to Tasha. It’d be interesting to see what her responses are.”

“Yes! Please, please, please?” begged Tasha.

Deanna laughed. “All right, fine.” She took the book from Barin and flipped it open to a scenario she and Riker had discussed while lying nude by that very same lake all those years ago. She read it aloud: “A friend tells you that she is very upset. Her immediate supervisor has said several overly critical things in regards to her work, and she feels frustrated and hurt over the situation. How do you respond?”

Tasha furrowed her brow, concentrating. She was silent for a moment, then she asked, “Am I supposed to help her solve her problem, or am I supposed to just listen to her feelings?”

“Well, what was your first instinct?”

“Um…” Tasha played with the remains of her burger. “Well, I don’t really know how to solve it, so I guess I would just give her a hug and tell her everything’s going to be okay. I don’t know how to do anything else.”

Deanna and Will looked at each other, their eyes shining. At last Deanna spoke. “Sometimes that’s all you need to do, little one.”

“Well, what does the book say is the right answer?” asked Tasha.

This time Will answered. “Basically it says you should tell her that you understand her frustration, and you have confidence in her that she’ll be able to work through it. The best way to answer would be to tell her about a time when you faced a similar situation, and describe how it made you feel, so that she knows she’s not alone in her emotions. But your answer was just fine, little one. That’s the most you could do, and the least another person needs in such a situation.”

Deanna smiled. “You’ve learned quickly, _Imzadi_.”

“Sure, after you told me the right answer.” Riker smirked.

“I seem to recall I spend a lot of time trying to teach you about the finer things in life,” Deanna said in a sultry voice. She inched closer to him.

“Oh, get a room, you two,” Barin groaned.

Deanna laughed. “Don’t be such a prude, little brother. Love is what makes the galaxy go ‘round.”

Tasha perked up. “T’Pel says—.”

“I was speaking metaphorically, little one,” said Deanna hastily. She gathered Tasha into her arms and held her close, stroking her hair.

“What did you mean by ‘the finer things in life’?” asked Tasha.

Deanna looked at her _Imzadi_ , smiling. “What do you think? Should we give her the grand tour?”

“By all means.” Will smiled back. “Get ready, sweetheart,” he said to Tasha. “You’re about to embark on an amazing trip down memory lane.”

************

“The first stop is the chapel where your mother and I first met,” Riker said. He led them up the front steps, and the chapel’s enormous wooden doors swung open to reveal rows of cushioned pews. There was an altar at the front of the room, and Deanna made her way towards it.

“We met during my friend Chandra’s wedding,” she explained. “I was the maid of honor, so during my part of the ceremony I was standing right about… here.” She stopped at a point slightly in front of and to the right of the altar, turning to face the pews. “And your father was sitting somewhere over there.” She gestured at the pews to her right.

“It was…” Will strode forward, scanning the pews, then he paused and went down one of the rows. “…here.” He sat down in the seat he had indicated, then he turned to face the front. “When I first saw your mother, I thought she was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.” He smiled and locked eyes with Deanna, who smiled back. “And she still is.”

“We almost held the Betazoid ceremony here,” Lwaxana said wistfully. “But the chapel simply couldn’t accommodate all the guests, so we held it at Amick Hall instead.”

“Everybody was naked, right?” asked Tasha.

“Yes, of course, Little One,” said Lwaxana. “Even your parents’ friends from the Enterprise, including dear old Jean-Luc— how _is_ he, anyway? And how are that wife and son of—?”

“No, Nana,” interrupted Tasha. “I meant the wedding where Mommy and Daddy met.”

“Everybody was naked at that wedding too, little one,” Deanna said. She smirked. “Even your father, although I’m told the custom came as quite a shock to him.”

“‘Shock’ is an understatement,” said Will. ‘Nobody saw fit to tell me beforehand that the moment I got there everyone would suddenly start stripping like— like— well, like guests at a Betazoid wedding,” he finished lamely.

“You certainly seemed to warm up to the concept after a while, _Imzadi_ ,” said Deanna. She looked at Tasha, smiling. “Your father couldn’t keep his eyes off me the entire time.”

Will grinned. “Meanwhile, your mother pretended to not be the least bit interested in me.”

“I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, _Imzadi_.”

“No it isn’t! You wouldn’t even so much as glance my way during the reception.”

Tasha ran over to her father, climbing up into his lap. “So how did you get her attention?” she asked.

“Well, I had to do some detective work to find out who she was and where she could be found, but I eventually ran into her a couple times, and I was able to persuade her to go on a date with me. We...” He paused and shared a wry smile with his wife, who seemed to be trying to hold back laughter. “... _learned_ a few things about each other, and your mother came to the conclusion that I needed to be taught how to get in touch with my spiritual side…”

************

“That’s it?” said Tasha, disappointed.

They were in the Betazed Museum of Art, standing opposite a painting which consisted of concentric splashes of at least five different colors. All around them they heard what Deanna called ‘soul music’, which was emanating from a multi-piped instrument being played in a rotunda down the corridor. Its purpose was to facilitate and encourage communion with one’s inner self. The painting they were facing was the very same painting Deanna had shown to Will all those years ago, in an effort to guide him in his own self-communion. His reaction had been much the same as Tasha’s was now.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s it’?” Deanna said incredulously. “It’s a work of art!”

“It’s just a bunch of blobs,” protested Tasha.

Deanna buried her face in her hands while Will laughed uproariously. “That’s my girl!” he said, picking Tasha up and swinging her around.

“Do keep your voice down, William,” said Lwaxana. “This place is meant for _quiet_ introspection.”

“Oh, Will’s never had much patience for quiet introspection,” Deanna said, glancing knowingly at Riker. “He’s a man of action.”

Will was about to retort when someone said, “I thought I heard a familiar voice!” Up to that point they were the only ones who had been speaking aloud, so they were all somewhat startled as they turned to face the newcomers.

“Chandra!” Deanna exclaimed. Laughing, she ran to embrace her old friend, and Chandra’s husband Teb. “I haven’t seen you since Will’s and my wedding! How have you been?”

“I think the real question is how have _you_ been,” said Chandra, her eyes dancing. “Quite literally the entire planet heard the news about Lwaxana Troi’s impending granddaughter. We haven’t heard the end of it since!”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Deanna said, glancing sideways at her mother. “But never mind that. Come and meet Tasha.”

Chandra and Teb were introduced to Tasha, and there was much greeting and shaking of hands. “Your mother and I used to come here all the time when we were younger,” Chandra told Tasha. “The painting was very helpful to us in getting in touch with our inner selves.”

Tasha looked at the painting again, then back up at Chandra. “ _How?_ ”

“Tasha takes after her father,” Deanna said by way of explanation.

“Hey!” Will said indignantly.

“I meant that in the most flattering sense, _Imzadi_.” Deanna smiled and gave Will a tender kiss on the cheek.

Chandra turned to look at the painting again. “Didn’t we once talk about Will in front of this painting, Deanna? The day the Sindareen came?”

“You were talking about me?” Will asked at the same time Tasha said, “Sindareen?”

“Later, _Imzadi_ ,” said Deanna, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “The Sindareen,” she explained to Tasha, “are an alien race that used to cause a lot of trouble in these parts. What Chandra was referring to was the day they launched an attack on Betazed for the express purpose of stealing several of these paintings to sell to a collector.”

“They can’t be worth _that_ much,” said Tasha skeptically.

“Well, it’s all a matter of taste,” Deanna said, looking pointedly at Will, who was doing his best to not burst out laughing again. “Anyway, they happened to launch this attack at the same time Chandra and I were in here, and they took us as well as several others hostage. They were going to take Chandra with them as a shield to keep the Starfleet officers outside from shooting at them as they escaped, but I tried to stop them, and they took me instead. Starfleet security shot their ship out of the sky, and it crashed in the Jalara Jungle. Only the Sindareen leader and I survived, and he held me hostage while Starfleet searched for us.” She smiled then. “It was your father who finally rescued me.”

Tasha nodded in satisfaction. There was something overwhelmingly _right_ to her about the idea of her father coming to her mother’s rescue. It seemed to her that was how the world should work, with her father always standing at her mother’s side, ready to defend her against God knows what. She found a great deal of comfort in that image.

Riker smiled. “Technically, that happened twice, remember?”

Deanna’s eyes widened. “So it did! But…” she glanced around, suddenly aware of the presence of numerous telepaths. “… isn’t that classified?”

“Yes,” admitted Riker, “but do you honestly think we’re going to get away with not telling Tasha that story?”

They both looked down at their daughter, who was looking up at them with open impatience and eagerness, her arms folded across her chest. 

“We’ll have to find some modicum of privacy,” Deanna finally said.

************

The sky seemed to be dancing in shimmering waves of light. The Riker-Trois were seated on a narrow rock outcropping, facing a remarkable vista, with the sunlight glinting dazzlingly off broad mountain ranges that spread out before them as far as the eye could see. They were in a place called the Singing Skies, and it was yet another place on Betazed for quiet contemplation. Only when one was in tune with oneself could one hear the music.

“Now tell me about the second time you rescued Mommy,” insisted Tasha.

Riker proceeded to describe a hair-raising adventure, in which an alternate future version of himself somehow made his way back to the Enterprise-D in 2368, when the Enterprise was hosting a Sindareen peace conference. This alternate future Riker approached then-present-day Riker and warned him of the imminent death of his _Imzadi_. Subsequent events revealed that a Sindareen from the future had traveled back in time to poison Deanna in order to prevent her from discovering at the peace conference that the Sindareen were lying about their peaceful intentions, and instead intended to use Federation resources to rebuild until they reached a point where once again they could engage in attacks against Federation worlds. Ultimately, the two Rikers’ joint rescue of Deanna allowed her to play a pivotal role in shaping Federation history, the consequences of which saved many lives the Sindareen would otherwise have laid waste.

Tasha’s eyes widened as she processed this last point. “You’re a hero too, Mommy!”

Deanna blushed a brilliant rosy red. “Well, I don’t know about _that_.”

“I do,” Will said simply. 

Deanna looked at him. An understanding seemed to pass between them, one that had no need for words. Tasha watched them, wishing she could hear what was going through their minds. _I wonder if someday someone will love me the way Daddy loves Mommy._

 _Oh, I don’t doubt that, Little One._ Her Nana’s mental voice intruded on Tasha’s musings. _You’re every bit as lovely and graceful as every Daughter of the Fifth House who has gone before you. Any man would consider himself extraordinarily lucky to have you._

Nana’s words filled Tasha’s heart with a warm glow. She smiled widely.

“I used to come here with Ian all the time,” Lwaxana said aloud. “He was rather good at it, for a human. The very first time I brought him here, he was able to hear the music.”

Barin rolled his eyes. “Well, good for him.”

Deanna frowned at the slight hostility in Barin’s tone. She was about to inquire further when the skies opened and the heavens poured down upon them like the Biblical flood. Forked lightning flashed overhead, and the mountains shook with resounding thunder.

“Oh dear!” exclaimed Lwaxana. She scooped Tasha up and held her close to her chest. “Get to the hovercar, everyone, quickly!” She shooed everyone else ahead of her into the car, and as soon as the door shut behind them they sped away into the rapidly darkening skies.

************

Back at the Troi mansion, Lwaxana was showing Tasha the family photo album. “This was taken the first time your grandfather came home shortly after he was promoted to lieutenant commander,” she was saying. “We had a big celebration at the lake, and it was all very lovely. And this one was taken at the aquarium, when he took Deanna there for her fifth birthday…”

As Lwaxana continued to point out each picture and describe the history behind it, Tasha noticed Barin was loitering in the hallway just outside the open doorway. As soon as she made eye contact with him he disappeared from sight.

“Uncle Barin?” Tasha called out.

There was a moment of silence, then Barin reluctantly emerged. He kept his gaze averted as he said, “Um… Tasha, can I have a word with you?”

“Okay,” said Tasha. She turned to say ‘bye’ to Nana, but Lwaxana had already managed to discreetly slip out the door.

Barin sat down cross-legged across from Tasha. He fiddled with his shoelaces for a moment, then he finally said, “Deanna said I should talk to you. That you’re good at cutting through complicated things and making people feel better.”

“Really?” Tasha’s face lit up. Her mother was better at helping people than anyone else in the business (at least according to her father). So if she thought Tasha was good at helping people… Tasha beamed with pride. If her mother was confident in her helping-people abilities, she was certainly going to do her best to help her uncle. “What’s wrong?”

“I wanted to ask you about… fathers,” Barin said at last. “Specifically, about your father.”

“Why don’t you just ask Daddy himself?” asked Tasha.

“I did,” said Barin. “I asked him about his relationship with his own father, and he was very helpful in sharing his experiences with me, but I was still uncertain. Then Deanna suggested you might be able to help.”

“Help with what?”

“Deciding what to do about my own father,” Barin said with a sigh. “You know that Tavnians segregate their children by sex, right?”

Tasha nodded. “That’s why you live here, because Nana wanted to raise you herself.”

“That’s right. Well, normally, Tavnian children learn about the other sex and meet their other parent when they’re sixteen. I obviously know about girls already, but I won’t be able to meet my father for another three years. What I’m trying to decide is… if I really want to.”

Tasha frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Well…” Barin hesitated, running his fingers through his hair. “All I really know about him is what Mother’s told me, and that basically amounts to ‘he tried to steal me from my mother and keep me sequestered in a chauvinistic, metaphorical Rapunzel’s tower, where I would have basically been completely isolated from and ignorant of the rest of the world for the first sixteen years of my life’. So obviously, I’m predisposed a little negatively towards him. But all my life I’ve heard stories from Mother and Deanna about Deanna’s father, and what a wonderful man _he_ was. And I wonder if I’m denying myself the opportunity to have a similar relationship with my own father. But then I wonder if that’s even possible, considering how he’s not exactly the same kind of man… Do you see my problem?”

Tasha blinked rapidly, trying to process everything Barin had just told her. “Kind of… but how am I supposed to help?”

“Well, you’re good at using your imagination,” said Barin. “Imagine if you had never met your father, and all you knew about him were some less-than-flattering things your mother had told you. If you had the opportunity to meet him, based on all of that, would you take it?”

Tasha sat in silence for a long moment, turning the question over in her mind. No matter how she looked at it, there was one fact she kept running up against, rendering her unable to proceed further. “But there are so many good things about him,” she said. “If Mommy were telling me about him, wouldn’t she tell me those things too?”

“Maybe not,” said Barin. “Their relationship ended pretty abruptly the first time, when Will went back to Starfleet and left her behind on Betazed. Suppose that was where things stood when you were born, and she hadn’t seen him since that time. There would be good things to tell, that’s true, but there would also be regrets, and that would cloud her memories of him and affect how she tells you about him. Now imagine, if your father was only a brief love affair that your mother had years ago and hadn’t seen since, would you still want to meet him?”

Tasha pondered the question for many minutes. At last she spoke. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“He’s still my daddy.”

Barin blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said.”

They stared at each other, Barin’s face bewildered, Tasha’s open and innocent. Slowly Barin’s expression changed, his face breaking into a broad smile. “Deanna was right. You really do have a way of cutting through the complications.”

“Thank you!” Tasha beamed. Then she frowned, puzzled. “What did I say?”

“Exactly what you needed to say.” Barin fluffed her hair, then picked her up, swinging her around as she giggled furiously. “I have an idea. This storm probably won’t let up for a while. Why don’t we all play a game of hide and seek?”

“Yay!” Tasha scrambled to the floor and ran out the door and down the stairs, to where the rest of the family was gathered. “I want to seek first!”

“Okay,” Barin said, laughing.

************

Half an hour later, Tasha had succeeded in ferreting out the hiding places of her father, uncle, and grandmother. Her mother had yet to be found, and Tasha was creeping carefully down the hall in tiptoe sock feet, hardly daring to make a sound. She pressed a fist against her mouth to stifle her giggles. Her mother had to be hiding in the room at the end of the hall; she’d already searched every other possible place within the area they had outlined at the start of the game.

The door was ajar, and Tasha gently eased her small body through the gap. The room was painted in various bright shades of purple, with several small Betazoid _objets d’art_ scattered about the room. None of them were big enough to hide behind, but at the far end of the room there was a large walk-in closet. Tasha crept toward it, her excitement mounting.

She flung the doors open. “Ready or not, here I come!”

Tasha inched slowly down the length of the closet, peeking under and around every garment and box. It was just a matter of time until—

“Ow!” Her forward progress was abruptly halted by the stubbing of her toe against a small, ornately carved box. It had been closed, but the impact with her toe had popped the lid open. Curious, she bent down to inspect the contents.

It was a hodgepodge of seemingly unrelated objects. There was what looked like a piece of vine, a white headband, an old, 2350s-era study disk labeled ‘Human Dysfunctions’, a rock with a strange, dark red stain, and a folded piece of paper. She carefully unfolded the crinkly, yellowed paper and examined the words that were written on it.

“I hold you close to me. Feel the breath of you, and the wonder of you, and remember a time without you, but only as one would remember a bleak and distant— hmm.” She stopped reading. “What does ‘bleak’ mean?” she wondered aloud.

“Basically it means empty, dreary, lacking hope and happiness.”

Tasha looked up, startled. “Mommy!”

Deanna stepped out from behind a voluminous blue dress, smiling. “I see you’ve found my memory box.”

“And you!” Tasha said triumphantly. “I win!” She stopped, frowning. “Wait a minute. Does it still count if you leave your hiding place?”

“I’ll allow it.” Deanna continued to smile as she sat down next to her daughter.

“Did you write this, Mommy?” asked Tasha.

“Actually, your father did, back when we first got together.”

“Really?” Tasha smiled broadly as she skimmed the rest of the poem. “It’s about you?”

“Of course it’s about me.” Deanna gathered her daughter into her lap and hugged her close. She gently kissed her forehead. “He wrote that just a few days after he rescued me from the Sindareen— the first time, that is. It was the first of many incredible, romantic things your father has done for me.”

“What are the other things in the box?”

“Other relics of our first relationship. The headband Chandra wore at her wedding— at Betazoid weddings the bride tosses the headband like a human bride would toss a bouquet. I was the one who caught it, and while catching the bouquet carries the superstition that she who caught it would be the next one to get married, catching the headband means that the great love of your life is at that gathering.” She smiled wistfully. “Of course, at the time I had absolutely no idea that was in fact what your father would turn out to be.”

“I thought you said that when you meet your other half, you know right away.”

“I said that you know right away on a _subconscious_ level. You don’t always fully realize it on a conscious level, especially if your life experiences up to that point have led you to believe that such a person would be completely wrong for you and not your type in the least.”

“And you thought Daddy wasn’t your type?”

“Not at first, and he actually felt the same way about me. And yet, despite all that, he felt drawn to me in a way he had never felt before or since with anyone else, and I was also drawn to him. It’s a unique feeling, and even though you might be able to fall in love with other people, there will always be one person who is first in your heart and soul. That’s the meaning of the word _Imzadi_ , little one. Your father and I call each other that, and my mother and father called each other that, because we were the first to touch each other’s souls.”

“Like soulmates?”

“That’s the closest Terran concept, but _Imzadi_ goes even deeper than that. It’s difficult to explain in words, little one. When it comes to telepaths, there are some things that transcend simple verbal communication.”

“What’s _transcend_ mean?”

“It means to rise above and beyond the limits of some abstract and nonphysical concept.”

“But verbal communication isn’t nonphysical.”

Deanna sighed. “I meant… never mind, little one. The point is, that kind of love only ever comes once in a person’s life. You should treasure it, and savor it for as long as it lasts.”

They sat together in silence for a few moments longer. “Why is the human dysfunctions disk in here?” Tasha asked finally. “And the vine and the rock? And what’s that stain on the rock?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, little one.”

Tasha scowled. “Am I _ever_ going to be old enough to know all these things I have to be older to know?”

“You definitely will.” Deanna kissed her daughter’s forehead and caressed her hair tenderly. “Now come on, little one. It’s time for you to go to bed.”

************

Her parents tucked her into a four-poster canopy bed in one of the guest rooms on the third floor. Lwaxana had decorated it specially for visits from Tasha, and the walls were painted with scenes from Terran and Betazoid fairy tales. The entire setup made her feel like a princess.

Will finished reading her the bedtime story and closed the book, setting it down on the bedside table. He fluffed his daughter’s hair and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Good night, sweetheart.”

“Good night, Daddy.” Tasha smiled sleepily.

Will stepped back from the bed, allowing Deanna to take his place beside the bed. She smiled down at Tasha and stroked her hair as she began to sing:

“Down in the valley, valley so low… hang your head over, hear the wind blow…”

Out in the hallway, Lwaxana was walking towards Tasha’s room to say good night when she heard her daughter singing. She came to a halt, allowing the melody to wash over her.

“Roses love sunshine, violets love dew… angels in heaven, know I love you…”

Lwaxana sighed, overcome with memories of Ian singing the very same song to Deanna when she was a little girl, and to Kestra before her. Every night she would hover in the doorway and just listen, basking in the warmth and joy her family brought her. And so she did now, as her daughter carried on the tradition of the bedtime lullaby.

“Build me a castle, forty feet high… so I can see her, as she rides by… As she rides by, love, as she rides by… So I can see her, as she rides by…”

Lwaxana smiled fondly at the familial mise en scène before her. For a long time her family had been complete, but apart, due to Ian’s frequent tours of duty aboard the _USS Carthage_. Then her eldest daughter had been torn from her suddenly, leaving a ragged, gaping hole in her heart she had quickly papered over with a deep denial. For the next seven years her slightly smaller family continued to remain frequently apart, until Ian too was taken from her. Then it was just her and Deanna, and for a long time they were all there was. Then Deanna met Will Riker, and embarked upon a twenty-year journey which culminated in the Trois welcoming Will into the family. While this was happening, Lwaxana sought out companionship of her own in the form of various men, eventually marrying Barin’s father, Jeyal, and subsequently won the right to raise their son by briefly marrying Constable Odo of Deep Space 9. Finally, Tasha was born, and her family, while vastly different in composition, was at last complete again. 

Deanna finished the song and hugged her daughter tightly against her chest. “Good night, little one. Sweet dreams.”

Tasha yawned. “Good night, Mommy,” she mumbled as she snuggled deeper under the covers, squeezing her teddy bear, Captain Fluffy.

Lwaxana came in then, with Barin close behind her. They each said their goodnights, then everyone tiptoed softly out of the room, leaving Tasha sleeping peacefully behind them, dreaming of all she had learned that day, about life, love, and family.


End file.
